Little Brother
by MaytoDecemberRomanceContest
Summary: My older sister's best friend hasn't been around for nine years. But she's coming home for my high school graduation. I remember her…I remember her well…


Contest entry for the May to December Romance Contest

**Title**: Little Brother  
**  
****Rating**: M

**Summary**: My older sister's best friend hasn't been around for nine years. But she's coming home for my high school graduation. I remember her…I remember her well…

**Disclaimer**: The author does not own any publicly recognizable characters herein. No copyright infringement is intended.

* * *

My first dirty dream ever involved an eighteen-year-old girl named Bella Swan.

Nothing out of the ordinary there, right?

Except, I was nine at the time.

Bella Swan was the type of teenage girl most moms wouldn't want their daughters hanging out with, most dads wouldn't want their sons dating, and most families in general would look down on out of the corners of their eyes.

A whole lot of whispering went on whenever Bella walked down the streets of Forks dressed in her short, tight skirts, swaying her hips while her sharp heels click-clacked noisily over the pavement. She had a habit of flipping her long, brown hair while grinning and winking at every male that passed her by, earning pointed glares from disapproving parents and jealous wives – which she laughed at and ignored.

I'm sure all those married men thought a night on the cold couch was worth a wink from Bella – probably enough to keep 'em warm late into the lonely night.

They sure as hell kept me warm that night of my first nocturnal emission.

Bella Swan was fucking beautiful, that's what she was. She was funny and confident and sexy as hell and not the least bit apologetic about any of it despite the fact that we lived in one of the smallest damn towns in the country. In Forks, the neighbor's cow giving birth was news, never mind an eighteen-year old girl hooking up with her boyfriend in the bed of her old truck.

Of course, I figured all this out later, here and there over the past few years as I thought about her. Back then, I didn't know she was beautiful. I had no fucking clue what all those crooked glares from everybody meant. I didn't know a whole lot.

Bella left town not long after that first wet dream of mine. Off to college and a new life, she said one morning while sitting at my parents' breakfast table. A life where she wouldn't have to apologize to anyone for who she was and what she wanted.

My parents agreed with her. See, my parents weren't like most parents. My family wasn't like most families.

My family loved Bella Swan.

Bella was the daughter of our small town's police chief, Charlie Swan. Her mother wasn't around anymore, having walked out on Bella and Charlie when Bella was ten. Not that I remember any of this. I was barely a year old at the time. Charlie was therefore left to raise Bella on his own, and well…I suppose a police chief didn't have the time required to raise a pre-pubescent daughter, to make sure she wore her skirts to her knees – or kept them on at all for that matter. Bella was left to her own devices, and I guess she got up to things a young teenage girl wasn't supposed to get up to. And when Bella and my sister, Alice, began hanging out together in middle school, I suppose my parents began feeling responsible for her.

I'd be lying if I said I remember the day I met Bella. She was just always there. Both of them nine years older than me, we had very different interests at that point: with them, it was usually boys; with me, it ranged from Hot Wheels to video games.

I'd also be lying if I said that I fell in love with Bella when we were kids.

I was nine years old, for God's sakes, when she left Forks. My main concern at that point in my life was helping my buddy, Emmett, rid the streets of Racoon City of zombies.

So no, I didn't pay her much attention back then. I don't recall anything important or life-altering she may have ever said. I don't even think I ever knew what color her eyes were before she left Forks.

But I do remember what happened the night before my dirty dream…

XXXXXX

"Hey, Ed, you wanna go get some ice-cream?" Alice asked me that afternoon while Emmett and I furiously worked over the controllers to keep the horde at bay.

"Leave me alone, Al! Can't you see me and Em are busy right now? Aw hell, Em, you see that guy's guts splatter across the screen? Sweet!"

"Come on, Edward! Bella and I wanna go get ice-cream, but Mom says we gotta take you with us!"

I smirked, keeping my eyes on the screen. "'Course she wants you to take me. You're a couple of bitches."

Hey, hey, hey, I didn't mean it that way. That's just what I always heard them calling one another.

Nevertheless, Em, my best bud, guffawed loudly at my side. "Good one, Ed."

"Eff you, Edward," Alice said dryly. "And Emmett, I wouldn't talk bitches with that mother of yours. Come on, Edward!"

I ignored her, too busy kicking zombie ass.

"Edward, come on!"

I won't bore you by expanding on this, but it continued for about another ten minutes.

Eventually, she planted herself in front of the TV screen to try to convince me to go, then she tried to bribe me with talk of gummy bear toppings and warm, hot fudge, but I simply stretched my neck around her and reminded her that one, I hated gummies, and two, we had hot fudge in the pantry.

"Jesus, Edward, Come on!"

I kept right on ignoring her.

"Edward?"

Out of my periphery, I vaguely noted Bella sitting with her legs crossed on the arm of the couch.

"What?" I asked distractedly.

"Edward, look at me," Bella said, using a tone much smoother than my sister had been using.

"I'm busy!"

"Please?" she pleaded, in that same soft, smooth tone. "Just for two seconds, Edward. I promise it'll be worth it."

Sucking my teeth, I spared what I only intended to be a glance in her direction.

Like I said, don't ask me about her eyes – at least not what I knew of them then. She was wearing a white, ribbed tank-top – that, I do remember. She wore those a lot. And I remember that when I did turn my eyes her way, she was leaning towards me, and gravity had pulled her tank top away from her chest so that I got my first, bird's eye view of a pair of the most perfect breasts I've ever seen to this very day - nipples and all.

Needless to say, the controller crashed to the floor.

"Edward, come on, Man!" Emmett - who was too busy shooting off brains to see what was happening - yelled. "We're getting murdered here!"

And I remember that while I stared at those round, plump, creamy tits, it was the first time I felt something strange way down low, a tingling that started in my stomach and seeped down into my groin, making it twitch almost painfully.

"Edward, come with us, please? Your parents won't let Alice go unless you come along," she said, her voice taking on this breathy quality I'd never heard, "and we…well, we just really, really want ice-cream." She ended the sentence in a whisper, as if what she were telling me were a secret between just the both of us.

Then she smiled, and I was frozen.

Every part of my body was immobile – except for that part between my legs that kept twitching.

After a few seconds, instead of picking up the controller, I found myself following a giggling Alice and Bella out the door.

"I can't believe you flashed my little brother."

"It worked, didn't it?"

"Where the hell are you going?" Emmett called.

"To get ice-cream, I guess," I muttered.

XXXXXXX

We did end up at the ice-cream shop, but what Alice and Bella had neglected to tell my mom was that James and Mike would be there waiting for them.

See, James and Mike were the town of Forks' resident hoods. Punk troublemakers that rarely went to school and were always seen hanging out at corners, smoking these strange, short, white cigarettes and just generally being rowdy. Neither one was allowed entry into either my house or the Chief of Police's – whom I remember yelling at Bella once or twice about how he saw them enough as it was down at the precinct.

Of course, this made them the kind of guys my sister and Bella would go for.

Alice bribed me with a triple-decker Sundae with caramel sauce and M&amp;Ms and two, extra-large sprays of whip cream on top. And while I'd like to say that I held on fast to my scruples and didn't allow myself to be bought off by such an inconsequential object, the truth is I worked my way through that bit of magic with a smile on my face.

As for Alice and Bella, they laughed and batted their eyelashes at the two assholes, groping their muscles and pretending to shove away the assholes' hands when they tried to grope back.

Once we were done there, we all walked back towards my house, taking the short cut through the woods that would hide us from view in case anyone in town see us with James and Mike and report back to Mom and Dad or the Chief. Never mind the fact that we'd always been warned not to take that hidden route in case a murderer decided to hide out there and kill us.

My stomach was beginning to ache from the big, fucking sundae I'd just inhaled, so while Alice and James walked hand in hand in front, with Bella and Mike a few feet behind them, arms around each other's waists, I kept a couple of feet behind them all. After a while, Alice and James were out of view, and it was just the three of us for half of the way home.

Rubbing my aching tummy, I half-listened to Bella and Mike talking and laughing. Every once in a while, James' hand would trail down to Bella's ass, cupping it over her tight skirt, and she'd smack it away. At one point, she looked back at me and turned back around.

"Damn it, Mike, stop! Alice's kid brother is right behind us!"

I remember Mike turned around and looked at me, and then laughed.

"So what?" he said. "Let's give him a little show."

His hand trailed under Bella's short skirt then, and I got a peek of the bottom of her ass cheeks when he tried to ride it up.

Just as perfect as the tits – by the way.

"What the hell?" she shrieked, stopping to adjust her skirt. "Quit being an asshole!"

Mike just kept on laughing. "What's the problem, Baby? It's not like I haven't rubbed that sweet ass before."

Bella's nostrils flared. "Not in front of a little kid!"

Her anger just seemed to amuse him. He grabbed her waist and pulled her to his side, lifting one hand to cradle her chin.

"Come on, it'll be fun," he hissed through clenched teeth, while my heart began pounding in my chest because I knew something really fucked up was going on in his head. "Let him watch me touch you. I bet you he'll get off on it. And maybe…we could get off on it too." His hand trailed to the front of her skirt now, and he lifted it hard and quick.

"Stop it!" Bella yelled. "You sick fuck!"

She pushed him, but he held her tight, laughing, and the next thing I knew, I was kicking him in the ass, where my foot left an imprint of dirt and grass on the back of his sagging jeans. Then I tried punching him in the ribs – but don't forget I was only nine.

"Get off of her!" I howled.

Mike frowned, and after a couple of seconds of studying me, he shoved Bella so hard that she fell over the ground on her ass, and before I could react to that, he turned and punched me in the gut, sending me reeling what I'll now admit now were a few feet into the mud.

Now I'd never been punched in the gut, unless you counted being tackled by Emmett when we played football. And though one time he had nailed me pretty bad so that it was actually hard to breathe for a few seconds, that's nothing compared to a guy twice your size and age purposely slamming his fist into your stomach.

I curled in on myself, writhing in pain, and when I looked up, he was stalking towards me again with a grin that let me know I was in deep shit. Despite the torture radiating in my stomach, I got my fists up and ready – which just made him laugh.

"You fucking asshole!"

Before he could reach me, Bella jumped on his back and grabbed him in a headlock, choking him.

"You gonna beat up a little boy, you pussy? How 'bout you try someone your own age!"

"Ow! Get off of me, you crazy bitch!" he said in a strangled voice

Bella jumped off and quickly moved in front of him, and then delivered a kick straight to the groin.

Mike fell to his knees with a whimper, groping his groin.

"Now get the fuck out of here before I really beat the shit out of you! My father's a cop, in case you forgot, and trust me, I can take you!"

It took him a few seconds to catch his breath, and when he did, he slowly got to his feet, glaring murderously at Bella.

"Dirty, little skank," he scowled, still holding his junk while he looked her up and down. "Your tired, old pussy ain't even worth it."

And with that, he stormed off the way we'd come.

And as I sat there on the cold earth, rubbing my aching stomach and still trying to catch my own breath, I watched Bella's chest heave up and down as she stared after him. I remember that despite everything, I couldn't help noting the outline of her breasts through her tank top. She wasn't wearing a bra, and her nipples were standing erect against the fabric.

Hey, I was nine.

She looked at me then, and my eyes quickly trailed up to hers.

"Are you okay, Ed?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," I shrugged. And then, almost as an afterthought, I asked, "Are you?"

She didn't answer. Instead, she pressed her lips tightly together and looked down, brushing off her short skirt and long, bare legs. And when she brought her face up once more, I could see her bottom lip trembling.

"Come on, Kid," she finally said, her voice shaking as she walked towards me and helped me up. "Let's go."

XXXXXXX

In bed that night, I replayed that scene in the woods in my head. But in my version, _I_ beat the shit out of Mike, and then as a reward, it was my hand trailing up Bella's skirt.

And when I closed my eyes, I had my first wet dream.

XXXXXXX

It was a couple of months after that incident that Bella and Alice graduated high school. Both having been accepted to the same college in the Northeast, they left town not long after, and though my sister visited often enough, Bella never did come back to Forks.

That is, until the day of my high school graduation.

XXXXXXX

The familiar strings of Pomp and Circumstance sifted through the two, huge speakers that had been situated at either side of the stage while me and the rest of my fellow graduates cooked out in the mid-June heat. Why the hell no one had thought to set up a tent or something over our seats as well as the stage to provide some shade and keep us from sweltering out here while teachers and overachieving students alike droned on and on up there, was beyond me.

At least we were up now and headed towards the stage to receive our diplomas. As we walked in a nervous line, I snuck a peek behind me and met Emmett's gaze.

"I'm gonna choke your fucking girlfriend when I catch up to her!" he hissed, making me chuckle.

Jessica Stanley, Forks High School's Student Body President, and, admittedly an admirer of mine, had spent almost a half hour up there making her speech while the rest of us sweltered in the unexpected heat of the day. Only the hisses and not-quite-so-subtle boos she started receiving convinced her to finally cut the shit short.

"She's your fucking girlfriend!" I hissed back.

"Your fucking girlfriend!" he said through clenched teeth. And then looking around to make sure that no one was watching, he quickly brought his fisted hand close to his mouth and pressed his tongue to the inside of his cheek, moving his tongue around the inside of his cheek and his hand back and forth quickly.

So yeah, she'd blown me the week before at Senior prom, and I'd made the mistake of telling my buddy, Em. He hadn't let me live it down since.

I snickered. "She's not doing that to me, Bro. Maybe to you."

"I wouldn't let her near mine if she was the last mouth on Earth. All right, maybe if she was the last one."

We both chuckled quietly, and I turned around.

Since my last name started with the letter 'C,' I was basically at the front of the line, which meant I reached the stage quickly. I won't lie, as I climbed the few steps to the podium, my mother-fucking heart started racing. After four, long-ass years, I was finally done with this shit. And in a couple of months, I'd be leaving rainy, shitty, Forks altogether for sunny California and college.

Or New York. I hadn't quite decided yet. I wasn't a stupid guy. My GPA had gotten me accepted to a couple of good schools, and I was still debating the benefits of west coast girls versus east coast girls.

Just as my sister and her best friend Bella had done almost nine years earlier – though they'd opted for east coast.

And speaking of my sister and Bella, they were supposed to be here today, but Alice had called from a stopover in Ohio, railing and screaming because their connecting flight was apparently late, and she wasn't sure if they'd make it to the actual graduation ceremony.

"That's okay, Al," I'd laughed. "I know you planned that shit on purpose. No one expected you to sit through that boring ass ceremony. _I_ don't even want to sit through it but we've been warned that unless we attend, our diplomas will be burned. I'll see you whenever you get here."

She'd chuckled. "Little Bro, I swear we didn't do it on purpose! We're gonna try our best to make it to the ceremony! I swear!"

I'd rolled my eyes, smirking. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever, Sis. We've got all weekend to catch up. Don't sweat it."

And so the seats my parents had reserved for Alice and Bella had remained empty throughout the ceremony.

As I approached the podium, where Principal Cope held out the rolled-up piece of paper that was supposed to be my diploma but was in actuality just a blank piece of nothing, I heard the loud screams and applause coming from family and friends in the audience, and I grinned.

Yeah, I moaned and bitched, but the four years hadn't been that bad, really. Emmett and I had been co-captains of the football team since tenth grade. Then there was Chelsea, and Bree, and Becca, and almost the entire first half of junior year with Gianna who'd let me do some serious exploring with her cute, little body. And some other girls here and there I'd kicked it to and messed around with. It'd been nothing serious with any of them, but hey, it was high school. I wasn't about to tie myself down with any chick just yet.

There was just…some part of me that always held off…that had never been one hundred percent into any of them. And honestly, as only my best bud in the world knew, I hadn't really fucked any of them. Don't get me wrong, we'd done some serious fooling around, and I'd wanted them, but…I don't know. Something just always held me back.

So technically, I guess you could've still called me a virgin. _T-e-c-h-n-i-c-a-l-l-y_.

I wasn't worried about it, really. I'd be a college man soon where that was sure to change.

All these thoughts raced through my mind while I took my "diploma" from Principal Cope, and the screaming and applause intensified. Yeah, I had a lot of friends in school, guys and girls.

There were a couple of screams that were louder than the rest, too excited to come from people who'd been in this town day in and day out for the past few years.

Holding my diploma up high, I stopped at the front of the stage and grinned, posing for the pictures I knew Mom and Dad were probably snapping wildly, and as I searched for them, my eyes caught a couple of girls jumping up and down, one with her hands waving in the air, and the other with two fingers in her mouth, whistling fiercely.

"Edward! Woo-hoo! Yeah! Go, Little Bro! Yeah!"

My grin widened. Alice and Bella had made it after all.

I'd seen Alice just a few months ago for Christmas, when she'd come down with her new boyfriend, Jasper. He was standing next to her now, watching her display and grinning proudly, so it looked like they were still going strong.

Then I saw Bella.

It had been almost nine years since I'd seen her. She'd been the hot, sexy, eighteen-year-old wild child that had given me my first peek at real, true-to-life cleavage, and who'd been the object of my wet dreams nightly for about six months afterwards.

And who in truth, still popped up in my dreams periodically.

She was the one jumping up and down, waving her arms wildly and calling my name.

"Edward! Yeah! Edward!"

I saw long, wavy hair, a white blouse and a pair of bouncing titties.

Then it was time to move along and let the next graduate have his second in the spotlight.

XXXXXXX

"Edward! Edward, Son, over here!"

I looked up from where Jessica, Chelsea, and a couple of other girls had me surrounded, giving me hugs and pressing their boobs against my chest.

My parents, Alice, Jasper and Bella were headed towards me.

"You girls coming to the party later?" I grinned.

See, though we'd already had our Senior Prom last week, my parents, as well as a few others had gotten together and rented us some space in the only decent hotel in Forks, the _Hariott_ (not to be confused with _Mariott_), so we could celebrate our graduation tonight.

Eager "yeahs" went up in the air, and as I walked off, Jessica held on to my hand, releasing it one finger at a time.

"Edward…maybe we can get together again tonight. You know, like last week? I've got know idea when I'll see you next," she giggled.

Now while I'd enjoyed the head job, I considered it more of a…parting gift, and having already received it once, I didn't need two of them.

"Uh…thanks. We'll definitely keep in touch."

She frowned.

"Thought Emmett here," – I patted my buddy's back – "was just saying how he wishes he would've gotten to know you better before we were done with school."

Her face brightened. Yeah, that was the thing; it wasn't so much me as it was my status she was into.

"Oh, Emmett," Jessica cooed, "I'd love to get to know you better!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Emmett murmured in a panicked tone as I chuckled and walked towards my parents.

"Edward, I'm so proud of you!" my mom said, hugging me tightly. I could hear the unshed tears in her voice.

"Good job, Son," my dad said, shaking my hand.

"Little Bro!" Alice cried, jumping on me and laughing, wrapping her arms around me tight. "I gotta be honest; I sort of doubted this moment would come – especially after that time you drank the whole bottle of Pepto when Bella and I dared you, and you ended up having to get your stomach pumped; wasn't the smartest thing you ever did, I'll tell you that much – yet here you are!"

"I believe I was about seven when that happened, which would've made you two about sixteen and old enough to know better," I smirked, setting her down.

"Yeah, well, when did your sister and I ever do what we knew to be better?"

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw dark hair and a white shirt, and the curviest silhouette you could ever imagine. When I turned to fully look at her, it was as if time had stood still.

With her long, shiny hair and young, beautiful face, Bella could've been one of the seniors graduating here today. She grinned widely at me through pouty lips painted a deep shade of red, long, curved eyelashes framing her dark eyes. Giggling, she wrapped her arms around my neck and pressed her warm body to mine.

"I hope we didn't physically or mentally scar you too badly with that one." Her warm breath tickled my ear.

"Nah," I said, curling my hands around her hips and inhaling the sweet scent that wafted off of her skin. "I had the runs for about a week but obviously survived." She pulled away, loosening her hold around my neck, and grinning sheepishly at me through her long lashes. "Besides," I smiled crookedly, "I've got quite a few…more entertaining memories of you I'd rather recall."

A pretty shade of crimson colored her face and spread all across her neck and collarbone.

And she chuckled heartily.

"I'm sure you do!" She held my gaze. "Edward. You've grown, Little Brother."

"Bella. Yeah, I have."

Little did she know, I was growing as she spoke.

XXXXXXX

We headed out to the only decent restaurant in Forks – _PIFridays_ – which stood for _Pretend It's Fridays_ and was the most blatant knock-off of _TGI Fridays_ you could ever imagine, with a bunch of shitty "memorabilia" on the walls, and waiters and waitresses dressed in red and black uniforms serving loaded potato skins and fried string beans as appetizers, and topped off with overdone steaks and grilled shrimp for dinner.

I had the overdone steak.

We were crowded into one of those wrap-around bench seats. I'd ended up next to Bella, and though she wasn't wearing one of those ultra-miniskirts I remembered her wearing from when I was a kid, I could still feel the heat of her thigh pressed up next to mine through the material of her jeans and my blue khakis.

"So how've you been, Ed?" Bella asked while we waited for our food to come. "It's been, what-"

"Nine years," I finished for her. "I've been good. Well, as good as you can be in a small-ass town like this."

She laughed. "Yeah, I remember." She looked beyond me, her eyes taking on a far-away look. Though she was smiling, there was something cool in her gaze. "The small minds of Forks. Always so ready to judge."

I had a feeling she was talking about more than just Forks at large. She and the Chief had never really gotten along. I mean, she hadn't been back for nine years.

"Never stopped you though, did it?" I said. "You always did what you wanted. Spoke your mind and feeble minds be damned."

She brought her eyes back to mine, studying me for a few seconds. "I'm glad that's how you remember it," she grinned. "I'd hate to think my wayward ways had ruined you even more than the Pepto Incident of '05."

"Nah," I chuckled. "You're my hero, Bella."

"I am?" she asked, pretty brows raised high.

"Sure you are. Shook the dust off of this here dump, left for college and never looked back."

She gave me a bland grin. "What about your sister, Alice? She left too."

I looked around the table, at the rest of my family enjoying themselves while the waitress – a pretty Junior I'd taken out on a couple of dates a few months back – lay out all our plates while trying to avoid my gaze.

"Alice left too, yeah, but she comes back every few months, always talking about how she misses it here," I scowled.

Bella nodded. "Whereas I haven't stepped foot here since I left." She took a swallow of her water, gazing into the glass. "Tell you the truth, I had no plans to return at all. But then Alice told me Little Brother was graduating high school," she grinned wryly, "and well, I simply had to come back for that!"

"I'm honored you considered me enough incentive to return," I smirked.

"Yeah, well, just when I thought I was out," she hissed, eyes narrowed, and fisting her hand, pretended to pull on something, "they _pull_ me back in!"

I chuckled. "Pacino in _The Godfather, Part III_."

"You know those movies?"

"You kidding me? They're classics! Even that last one. I love all that gangster shit."

She smirked. "Figures. Teenaged boys and their love of violence. Anyway, what were you, like negative five when that last one came out?"

I snorted, and conceded, "Maybe," before leaning in closer to her, "But I'm not negative anything anymore."

I held her gaze, and she grinned. "You sure aren't."

And with that, she once again looked down at her water.

XXXXXXX

Emmett and I had decided we wouldn't be doing the "date" thing for the party tonight. These were our last few weeks in Forks, and despite it being a small town, it did have a nice collection of pretty girls; why limit ourselves? Rosalie Hale and Kate Rios would be there, both of them crazy about Emmett. The question was which one he'd end up with after the party.

As for me, well, I had a few choices as well, from my ex, Chelsea, to Bree, to Tanya, and if things really got desperate, there was always Jessica…

Nah, I didn't see myself being that desperate.

Anyway, that night wasn't supposed to be about girls or random hookups ending with me promising to take them to _PIF_ before I left town; that night was supposed to be about me and Emmett and the rest of our buddies blowing off steam for one of the last times in our pre-college lives.

At least, that had been the idea before Bella.

XXXXXXX

Later that evening, I came down dressed in my black suit, a crisp white dress shirt underneath and shiny, black loafers on my feet. Over the past few months, I'd been letting my reddish-brown hair grow, for no particular reason other than I had pretty good hair and it seemed to drive the girls insane. Anyway, I figured I'd cut it right before I started college in the fall, but for now, it was just past my jawline.

"Whoa!" Bella exclaimed when I entered the living room where she and my family were hanging by the TV. She'd changed from the skinny jeans and pretty blouse she'd worn earlier and was now in a pair of sweatpants and tank top, sitting on one of the couches with Alice and Jasper.

"Little Brother cleans up like a copper penny." She stood and lifted herself on her tiptoes, raking a hand through my hair and affording me an unsuspecting peek of her perfectly-toned mid-drift when her tank top rode up.

She may as well have raked that hand through my balls.

"You looking good, Little Brother!" she smiled. "Got a hot date for the night?"

"Hell no," I snorted. "It's all about me tonight, not some needy chick."

Bella rolled her eyes and turned to my parents, who were sitting on the opposite couch.

"Way to go, Mom and Dad; you've raised the typical man."

Mom laughed, and Dad smiled indulgently. They spoiled Bella as if she were their own.

"Son, I think we've just been insulted."

"Seriously," Alice agreed. "Good going, Guys. _It's all about me_," she mimicked.

"Give him a break," Jasper chuckled, throwing an arm around Alice and pulling her in close. "When he's older and meets the right girl, he'll learn it ain't shit about him."

"That's the truth."

Then they all burst out laughing - at my expense.

"What the fuck," I said, "I'm not twelve."

"Edward, language."

"You're not thirty either," Bella chuckled. "You've still got a ways to go before you learn not to call a girl a _chick_. And watch your mouth before I bust out one of my Body Shop bars and give it to your mom to shove down your throat."

She winked playfully when she was done, but something about the way she kept treating me as if I were still that nine year old she'd left behind was starting to piss me off.

I raised a brow, leaning against the wall. "So is that's what you're into now, Bella? Thirty-year-old farts?"

"I'm twenty-seven, Edward," she reminded me, nonplussed by my attitude. "A thirty year old fart is only three years older than my old ass."

She sat back down on the other side of Alice, grinning up at me, and I was assaulted by a sudden urge to tell her that there was absolutely nothing old about her ass, and if she needed reassurance on that fact, she didn't need any thirty-year-old fuckface because I'd be happy to help.

The thought startled me enough to make my head jerk back.

"You okay?" Bella frowned.

"Yeah, yeah." I raked a hand through my hair.

"All righty!" she said, clapping her hands together once. "Let's get this party started!"

My Dad opened up the fold-up table while Mom held the box of Scrabble in her hands, waiting.

"What are you guys up to?" I asked with a frown.

"We're playing Scrabble, Edward," Mom responded.

"Yup," Bella added. "While you and your buddies are off having one final, high school blast, Alice, Jasper and I are gonna kick your parents butts at Scrabble!"

"We shall see, Missy," my mom challenged, smiling at Bella lovingly.

They through some more playful, verbal jabs at one another while I looked on.

"Seriously? That's what you guys are going to spend the night doing?" I asked, looking at Alice, Jasper and Bella. "Playing Scrabble with the folks?"

"Do you have a better suggestion, Little Bro?" Alice asked.

"Hell yeah. Come to the party with us."

Alice chuckled, and Bella burst out laughing.

"What?"

"What? As chaperones?" Bella asked.

I rolled my eyes. "No, not as chaperones. Come hang out with us!"

"Edward, it's a teenagers' party," Alice said. "What would we do there?"

"Dance, talk to people, get out of the damn house," I pointed out.

"Doesn't sound like a half-bad idea," Jasper said hopefully, though I could tell he'd just go along with whatever Alice decided.

Bella snorted, setting up her letters carefully. "Last time I was here all those kids were in grade school," she murmured, obviously more into her strategizing than the topic of conversation. "Besides, what would we wear? I don't think any of us brought party clothes."

"I've got a suit I can wear," Jasper shrugged.

Alice looked at Jasper. "You really want to go?"

"Sure," he said. "Sounds cool."

I could tell by the look on my sister's face that she was beginning to consider it, and I guess Bella could sense it as well.

She looked at Alice. "Come on, Al, what would I wear? Other than that outfit for Ed's graduation, all I've got are sweats and jeans!"

Alice studied her momentarily. "Hey! I think we've still got some clothes in my closet upstairs from when we were kids!"

Bella quirked a brow. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah!" Alice said, sounding excited now. "It might actually be fun, seeing what all those snot-nosed kids we used to babysit are up to."

"I don't know…" Bella shook her head.

"Bella, since when do you turn down an opportunity to party?" I snorted.

She simply looked at me.

"Come on, Kids," My dad said. "Edward's right. You're only here for a weekend; what's the point of wasting one night sitting around here?"

"Go on," my mom smiled tenderly. "Go ahead. We'll catch up tomorrow."

Bella didn't seem too convinced at first, but Alice quickly grabbed her hand and rushed her up the stairs, followed by Jasper. I could hear Bella complaining all the way up.

Twenty minutes later, Emmett had arrived, and we were waiting downstairs for my sister and her group.

"Hey," Emmett said, elbowing me in the ribs while we hung around the foyer, waiting. "You don't think they'd snitch or anything if we decided to…" – he put his thumb and pointer finger together, squinting his eyes as he brought his fingers close to his pursed lips.

"Nah," I smirked. "They're not like that."

"I don't know," he shook his head. "It's been a while. And Bella seems a lot more subdued than I remember that bitch being."

"Hey, what the fuck?" I scowled.

"I'm just saying," he chuckled. "You gotta admit, she had a bit of a rep when we were kids."

I glared at him. "Just…watch your fucking mouth. She and my sister have been best friends since we were kids."

"All right, all right," he grinned, narrowing his eyes at me curiously.

Just then, Jasper came down, wearing a sporty, grey suit that wasn't too bad. The four of us hung out and then sort of moaned and outright started yelling down for the other two after about another fifteen minutes.

"Come on!" I groaned. "The summer will be done by the time you two-"

Alice appeared at the top of the stairs, in a red, little dress she must've pulled out of her closet.

"'Bout damn time!" I complained as she skipped down the steps.

"You look good in that," Jasper grinned at her, wrapping one arm around her waist and leaning into her ear, which made her giggle."

I rolled my eyes.

"Where's the other-"

The rest of my words died off somewhere when I looked at the top of the stairs and caught a pair of black, stiletto heels slowly making their decent. My eyes trailed up to a pair of long, shapely legs in transparent, black panty-hose. The legs seemed to go on and on for miles as my eyes trailed higher, finally reaching a pair of thighs covered by a black, leather miniskirt, and as they trailed higher, they reached a pretty, white blouse tucked into the skirt, and finally, the prettiest face I'd ever seen, wearing a mischievous grin through dark-red stained lips.

I swallowed back the saliva pooling at the edges of my mouth, while Emmett murmured a "holy hell" quietly next to me.

"Told you the skirt would still fit!" Alice said.

Bella chuckled. "I suppose it does."

"Prettiest girls around," Jasper said, kissing Alice's cheek. I watched my sister's face light up at the compliment, and while Bella smiled and thanked him, there seemed to be something melancholic in her features.

"All right!" Emmett grinned, clapping his hands together once. "Let's get this show on the road!"

He walked out, followed by Jasper and Alice, and as Bella turned around to follow, I grabbed her arm carefully and swung her around.

She had big, bright brown eyes. That was the first time I'd really noticed them. They had these flecks of gold and black, and even a little bit of green, like mine, in them.

"Hey, you look really beautiful," I told her.

She smiled up at me, barely reaching my nose though she seemed to be wearing six-inch heels. But I was six foot two now. Heels or not, she did have a way to go.

Pulling on the hem of her skirt, she rolled her eyes.

"I'm not so sure this skirt is me anymore."

"Why wouldn't it be you?" I asked curiously.

"It was a long time ago."

"It was," I agreed, and then moving in to whisper in her ear the way I'd just seen Jasper do to Alice, I said, "You're even hotter now than I remember you being then."

I pulled away and held her gaze. For a few seconds, we simply studied on another.

Then she laughed. "Boy, Little Brother, you've really grown into one smooth talker!"

"Hey," I chuckled, "that was the honest truth!"

She shoved me with one arm and walked off in front of me – and I've gotta be honest, I checked out that ass as she went.

It was a great ass – it had always been a great ass.

"Alice, your brother's grown into a sweet talker!" she called out as she went.

"Edward, stop trying to hit on Bella!" Alice yelled.

Chuckling, I closed the door behind us.

XXXXXXX

We had a pretty good evening. Most of the graduating senior class had turned out for the party, even though it was only a few of our parents that had actually paid for the ball room at the _Hariott_. Cheap fuckers in this town.

Surprisingly enough, Bella was a bit stiff at first, but then Jasper went and got both the girls as well as himself a couple of drinks from the hotel's bar, and gradually, they all loosened up.

The fucker refused to get me one though.

Turned out, I wasn't the only one who'd invited his older sister and company along. Bella and Alice squealed when a few of the guys and girls they'd gone to school with also showed up, and pretty soon, they were all talking and laughing and hanging out together in a corner deemed exclusively for those twenty-one and over.

"Told you they'd try to rain on our parade," Emmett moaned, though he was grinning at the same time. Asshole had no reason not to be in a good mood. Kate Rios and Rosalie Hale had been fighting over him all night, and if I knew my buddy Emmett, he'd be renting a room above us tonight and partying 'til the break of dawn.

As for me…

Well, I'd had my fair share of girls approach me over the past couple of hours, but…

I didn't seem to be interested. My eyes kept trailing over to where my sister and her best friend were off in a corner, laughing it up and dancing with their old gang.

It was at one point, while I was dancing with Sienna Rivers, a pretty, brunette that had always had a thing for me that I looked over and saw that Bella wasn't with her group anymore. My eyes searched the ballroom, finding a bunch of pretty faces wearing pretty dresses and shit, but not one girl with the big, brown eyes, the long, wavy hair, and the slamming miniskirt that hugged one fine ass.

Then I saw a guy I vaguely recognized from when I was younger.

He'd been tall and built back then, and he'd walked around with an arrogant swagger even though he'd been a fucking loser – even then. And now…now he seemed to have developed a bit of a beer belly, and since I was six foot two, his five foot ten frame didn't seem half as impressive. And neither did the hairline that seemed to be receding.

Jessica's older cousin - Mike Newton.

"Want to dance again?" Pretty, little Sienna asked me once the song ended.

"Nah, I'll take a raincheck, okay?" I grinned at her, walking towards Alice and Jasper, who were dancing now.

"Where'd Bella go?" I asked loudly over the music.

"I think I saw her walking towards the bar," Alice said. "We were having a good time and then she suddenly just walked off."

I nodded, standing around for a couple more minutes and pretending to dance and hold a semi-conversation with her and her man. But once that song was over, I walked away and looking around me to make sure no one was watching or following, I made my out of the ballroom and towards the hotel bar.

Bella was indeed seated at the bar, and as I walked over to her, I could see that she was nursing what looked like a glass of vodka on the rocks in her hand while trying to turn away from some dip shit in a suit that didn't appear to be taking the hint.

When I reached them, I tapped him on the shoulder. "Fuck off, Asshole," I told him, taking a seat at Bella's other side.

The guy glared at me hard for a couple of seconds, and I held his gaze steadily until he smartly walked away.

Bella turned to me with a chuckle. She crossed her legs, and her short skirt rode up even more, revealing the most tempting bit of creamy thighs imaginable.

"Thanks," she said. "I've been trying to get rid of him for the past ten minutes, but…I guess me and my skirt are sending out mixed signals."

"No problem," I said. "What are you doing over here by yourself, anyway?"

She rolled her eyes and took a sip of her drink. "I needed to get away for a while."

"Something happened over there?"

She shook her head, turning her mouth down. "Not really."

"Mm," I nodded, studying her. "You seem…different."

She chuckled. "Edward, the last time you saw me, I was eighteen, and _you_ barely reached my navel. Of course I seem different to you."

I snorted. "True, but that's not what I mean."

She took a sip from her drink and then held the glass out to me in offering.

"Nah. I could easily get one on my own if I wanted, but I'd rather keep a clear head tonight. It's not every day you graduate high school."

It was her turn to nod. "You seem different too."

"Bella, the last time you saw me, I was nine and barely reached your boobs. Of course I seem different to you."

She burst out laughing. "True. You've turned out…well."

"Thanks, I think," I said, frowning. "Not sure if that's a compliment or if you're just surprised I'm not some sort of criminal."

"It's a compliment," she assured me with a laugh.

I laughed along with her. "Tell me the truth; how's New York treating you and my sis?"

"It's good," she nodded. "The woman we work with at the Design Studio is really nice. We've got a great apartment in the city. We've got a good group of friends. Alice has Jasper now…" she trailed off.

"And you?"

"And me?" she smiled.

"Alice mentioned some boyfriend of yours the last couple of times she was here. Some 'Jake' or something?" I prodded.

She shook her head, looking down at her glass before taking another swallow. "Jake was a good guy, but it didn't work out."

"Sorry."

She shrugged. "It happens." And then with a deep breath, she looked back up at me. "And how about you, Little Brother? You seem to have all the young girls here absolutely drooling. Which one's the lucky one?"

"None of them," I stated.

"Never been in love, Little Brother?" she teased.

"No," I said firmly, "and stop calling me Little Brother."

"Why?" she smirked, grinning mischievously. "That's what you are: a little brother."

"Yes," I admitted, and then reached out and pulled the glass out of her hand, resting it over the bar counter. For some reason, I wanted to make sure her head was as clear as mine.

"I'm a younger brother," – I leaned closer to her – "but I'm not _your_ little brother."

She quirked a brow. "Never seemed to bother you before."

"I was nine," I smirked.

She laughed. "I remember you at nine. Playing those video games all the time. It was damn near impossible to pull you away from them!"

I picked up the glass and swirled it in my hand, keeping my eyes on it though I had no plan to take a sip.

"I seem to recall you managing to do so quite well once."

When I looked over, she was frowning, as if she had no idea what I was talking about, and through some surge of courage or balls or shamelessness, I reminded her.

"A few months before you and Alice left for New York, you flashed me."

"What?" she cried.

"You did," I grinned. "I was playing video games with Em, and you and Al wanted to go get ice-cream, but Mom said you had to take me, and I didn't want to go. So you called my name, and when I looked, you flashed me. It was my very first, live view of titties."

Her jaw dropped, and she stared at me while her pretty cheeks turned a bright shade of red.

"Oh God," she moaned, covering her face, "I totally corrupted your nine-year-old little brain."

I chuckled heartily, reaching out to yank her hand off of her face. "Don't worry about it," I grinned when she peeked up at me from between her fingers. "It was bound to happen any day at that point anyway. Matter of fact, if it hadn't been you, it would've been that busty, blond centerfold in the Playboy mag Em snuck out of his father's briefcase a few days after that. "

She chuckled. "You're just saying that to make me feel better."

"I swear, I'm not," I laughed.

She narrowed her eyes dubiously, but there was a smile lurking about her pretty, plump lips.

"In my defense, I was probably high that day." She grinned impishly. "I was high a lot back then."

"Were you?" I asked, cocking a brow.

"Totally," she laughed.

I shook my head. "The things I missed out on by being so much younger," I murmured.

"You're not so much younger anymore." She gave me a playful wink.

We held each other's gazes. With a nervous chuckle, she reached out and snatched her glass out of my hand, bringing it to her mouth.

"Anyway," I dropped my voice and moved in closer to her, inhaling the sweet scent of soap and perfume that wafted off of her neck. "Just so you'll know, a guy's first look at a perfect pair of tits? Well, that pretty much stays with you for a long, long time, and…I…well I'm pretty glad it was your tits I saw first."

She pulled back and held my gaze. "I can't believe I did that just for some ice-cream," she smiled. "I don't remember ever liking it all that much."

I pushed back in my seat. "Well…it wasn't really ice cream you wanted. When we left, you and my sister ended up meeting with James and Mike."

"Aah," she said, nodding her head slowly and keeping her eyes on me. "James and Mike." She moved her eyes front and center. "Those two were pricks."

"They still are. James packs bags at the supermarket, and Mike, I hear, sells electric cigarettes for a living."

She shook her head in disgust. "I can't believe I…anyway."

"Hey, we all make mistakes when we're kids," I assured her.

She pursed her lips. "I was your age when I made that mistake. What are you, Edward? Eighteen?"

"Not yet," I shook my head. "I'll be eighteen at the end of the month."

Her eyes widened, and she drew in a deep breath, pulling out a ten from her purse and laying it over the counter.

"I think I'd better get back to your sister."

XXXXXXX

I followed her back to the ballroom, and we walked in laughing, talking about how we'd probably have to carry Alice and Jasper back home with the amount of alcohol they'd consumed.

"Well if it isn't Bella Swan," someone said.

Bella and I faced forward – and right into the face of Mike Newton. The stink of stale alcohol permeated the air around him, and from the openly licentious way he checked her out from the top of her wavy hair, licking his lips at her tits, and then all the way down to her toes, it was obvious he'd had more than a few drinks tonight.

"I saw you earlier, Baby. Where'd you go without saying hi to me?"

Something inside me tightened, and I instinctively reached out to touch Bella, cradling her elbow in my palm as I stood a bit closer.

"Hey, Mike," I heard Bella say in a droll tone. "How's it going?"

"Can't complain too much," he shrugged – which I found to be a bit hilarious because if you can't complain about being an almost-thirty-year-old man who earns his living by selling electric cigarettes, then what can you complain about?

"Doing my thing, here and there. How 'bout you, Baby? What've you been up to?"

"This and that," she said. "Take care of yourself, Mike."

And with here and there and this and that over and done with, she made to move past him, and I walked with her, my hand still in contact with her arm.

"Hey, hey, hey," Mike said, reaching out and grabbing her arm, turning her around. "Where are you going-"

He didn't get a chance to finish his sentence because I reached out and ripped his grip off of Bella's arm.

"Don't touch her," I hissed lowly.

Mike looked away from Bella, bringing his eyes to me. He blinked, as if it were the first time he'd realized that Bella wasn't walking alone.

His brows furrowed together in concentration. "Alice Cullen's little brother?" He grinned widely. "Oh shit! Man, I haven't seen you since…"

"Yeah, since then," I sneered.

He stared at me for a few seconds, and then laughed. "Oh man, you've grown, Boy!"

"So I've heard." I wrapped my hand around Bella's wrist and gently tugged her. "Come on."

"What the hell, Boy?" Mike called behind us. "Where you taking her? Bella and I've got some catching up to do."

Bella whipped around. "We've caught up already, Mike. Like I said, take care."

She turned around again, but Mike reached for her once more, grabbing her by the waist, and that's when I'd had enough.

Dropping Bella's wrist, I turned around and tightened my hand around Mike's shoulder so hard that he winced and let go of Bella. Then, still curling my hand firmly around his shoulder, I guided him back and away from Bella.

"You need to keep your hands off of Bella," I growled. "I think you heard her say you're all caught up."

"Ow! What the fuck, Boy!"

"And stop calling me 'Boy." I dropped my hand and Mike hissed through his teeth, moving his shoulder around and around.

"What are you, like her own personal bodyguard? Didn't I almost kick your ass once for something similar?"

I stalked over to him then, my face a mere inch from his. "Yeah, you did. When I was nine and you were about twenty, you fucking loser. You want to try me now?"

By this time, the DJ has stopped playing, everyone had stopped dancing, and all eyes were on Mike and me, the inhabitants of the Harriott's ballroom so quiet you could've heard a pin drop. Mike glared at me hard for a few seconds. In the meantime, Emmett, Jasper and Alice had made their way to Bella and me, and while Emmett and Jasper flanked me on either side, Alice took a stand next to Bella.

With an angry huff, Mike took a step back.

"Wasn't worth it then, and she ain't worth it now," he snickered.

"Asshole," Bella muttered.

I snorted, and grinning humorlessly, jabbed a finger into Mike's flabby chest. "You keep saying that, yet you keep chasing after her."

His eyes narrowed into slits, and I waited with growing ire for him to say one more word or to take a swing, but he simply turned around and stalked off.

"Don't know why I bothered coming to this stupid party anyway."

Pretty soon, everyone dispersed and returned to their partying. Alice hung around, asking Bella if she was okay while Bella insisted that she was.

"I'm just going to head home, though," Bella said.

"All right, we'll go too," Alice said while Jasper nodded.

"No, you two stay," she said. "No reason for you guys to leave when you were having fun. It's fine, I don't mind."

"No, no," Alice said stubbornly. "We came here together; we'll leave together."

They argued it for about half a minute, when I finally said, "Alice, you and Jasper hang out. I'll take Bella home."

"What? But Edward, it's your party," Alice pointed out.

"It's fine," I said. "I've already said bye to anyone I need to say bye to. The rest doesn't matter."

"Edward, you don't have to take me home," Bella insisted. "I can easily call a cab."

"Where do you think you are, in New York?" I questioned. "You can't just go stand at the curb and catch a cab here."

"He's right, Bella," Alice insisted. "It's too late to call a cab around here anyway."

Bella rolled her eyes. "Then I'll just-"

"You'll just let me drive you home." I grabbed her wrist again. "Come on."

XXXXXXX

We worked it out so that Emmett would drive Alice and Jasper home in his car while I drove Bella home in mine.

It was a short, yet quiet and uncomfortable walk to the car.

Bella reached out and rested her hand on my arm, stopping me. "Edward, I…I don't remember everything…but I remember that day in the woods."

"Bella-"

"You were just a little kid, and I want to thank you for standing up for me then…and now too."

"I can't believe you dated that fucker," I said, shaking my head.

She looked down. "I was…a mess for a while, Edward. Alice and your parents stuck by me, but I…"

"Bella, what happened?"

She held my gaze. "You never noticed any of it, did you? No, how could you?" she said, answering her own question. "You were a baby."

"I wasn't exactly a baby," I said indignantly. "And I'm nowhere near a baby now. Why don't you tell me what I missed?"

"It's no big story," she snorted. "Just a dumb girl who didn't quite know how to fit in and got into stupid shit because of it. And now look at me."

"I'm looking," I said. "I've been looking since you got here."

She drew in a sharp breath. "Stop flirting with me, Edward," she smiled. "I'm practically old enough to be your mother."

"You're not," I said, lifting her head up with my fingers on her chin, "and even if you were, I wouldn't care."

"You're a smooth talker," she grinned.

"Sometimes, I am," I conceded with a nod, "but I swear to you, this isn't-"

I didn't get to finish my sentence before someone punched me in the back.

Bella screamed when I went down, and before I could get up, I felt a sharp kick in my ribs.

"Could never just mind your goddamn business, could you, Boy?"

I saw his foot coming towards me again, but this time I was ready. Lying on my side over the concrete floor, I grabbed his foot with both hands and twisted it around so that Mike fell on his ass, groaning. And before he could stand, I was already up and kicking him in the balls.

"Oof!" he cried, doubling over before throwing himself prostate on the ground.

"Get up, you piece of shit!" I said through clenched teeth, holding my fists up in front of me. But the asshole was wasted, and it wouldn't have really been a fair fight. Besides, he made no move to stand.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," I sneered. "You come near Bella again, drunk or not I'll put you in the ground."

"Let's go, Edward!" Bella pleaded, pulling my arm. "Let's go!"

She pulled me all the way back to the car. I unlocked it quickly and helped her in, and with my chest heaving from fury and adrenaline, I climbed into the driver's seat, slamming the door behind me.

"I _really_ can't believe you dated that fucker!"

"You already said that!"

"It bears repeating."

I closed my eyes, trying to regulate my breathing, but my body vibrated with excess energy. What I'd really wanted to do was beat Mike Newton to a bloody pulp, but there'd be no glory in a victory with him in the condition he was in. My mind raced with images of an eighteen year old Bella flashing me her tits and then shoving Mike away when he tried to fuck her right in front of me.

"I should go out there and-"

"No, you shouldn't," Bella cut me off. "Let's just go."

But I couldn't move.

Suddenly, Bella angled herself towards me, and placing a warm hand on my face, she pleaded quietly. "Edward, let's go."

And I jerked forward and crashed my mouth to hers.

"Edward-" she managed to cry before I plunged my tongue deep into her mouth, wrapping my hands around her face. She struggled for all of two seconds before her tongue met mine and her hands grabbed and gripped my hair, and for another two seconds, it was all clear in my head: _this_ was why I'd let my hair grow, for her. Somehow, I'd known it would be for her.

Our mouths met wildly while groans and moans went up into the quiet of the car. She tasted sweet, like honey, and her lips felt like heaven, like the softest, warmest clouds, moist and plump, moving eagerly with mine…

Until she pushed me away, and I felt the palm of her hand connect with my face.

"What the-"

"Are you insane?" she howled.

"What? Why?" I asked, cradling my cheek.

"Edward, you're not even eighteen!"

"So?"

Her beautiful, brown eyes bulged wildly. "Edward, I'm twenty seven years old!"

I grinned, moving in close to her again. "Bella, who cares? Don't tell me you don't feel it." I closed my eyes, once more puckering my lips…

And got shoved so hard my head hit the driver's side door.

"You're Alice's little brother!"

"So what?" I snapped, rubbing my head and frankly getting upset by then because what I wanted more than anything at that moment was to taste that sweet tongue again. "What the hell difference does that make?"

She shook her head incredulously. "I'm not hooking up with a barely eighteen year old boy! I'm not that crazy, wild girl anymore, Edward!"

"First of all, stop calling me a boy. The boy you knew grew up; I'm a man now. Second, _I_ never said you were a wild girl, Bella," I sneered. "I've never had anything but the deepest respect for you, and that hasn't changed!"

"You kissed me!"

"You kissed me back!"

She had no immediate response to that.

"Just…just drive us home, please," she pleaded.

My heart clenched tightly. I wasn't kidding; kissing her a few seconds ago had been the most magical, sexy and romantic moment of my life – miles beyond anything I'd ever done with any other girl.

"Bella, I-"

"Edward, please! Just drive us home!"

Inhaling so deeply that it took absolutely every last bit of breath in my lungs, I turned to the steering wheel, turned the car on, and drove off.

XXXXXXX

The ride home was completely silent while my mind replayed that kiss over and over again. I licked my lips a couple of times, tasting her sweetness on them.

It was almost three in the morning by the time I parked in front of the house. Bella didn't even wait for me to open the door for her. She quickly got out and stalked up the driveway, but as she didn't have the keys, she had to wait for me anyway.

With a sigh, I unlocked the door and opened it for her.

"After you."

She walked in quietly and I closed the door behind us. The house was dark and quiet, and I knew my parents were probably deep in slumberland. They'd always been heavy sleepers.

Bella started climbing the stairs, and as I looked up at her longingly, I couldn't resist reaching out for her.

"Bella, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

She turned around quickly and I cringed, waiting for another smack across the face.

But instead, Bella lunged herself at me, wrapping her legs around my thighs and her arms around my neck, and I held her tightly while our mouths moved frenziedly together.

"Jesus, Edward," she said against my mouth, "you can't possibly be only _seventeen_."

"Shh," I said, sucking on her lips. "Don't focus on that. Focus on _this_. Focus on how this feels…"

I devoured her mouth hungrily, my hands cradling her round ass while her soft tits pressed up against my chest. And somehow, I carried her up the steps as quietly as possible, all the while our tongues tangled together.

"Edward, I don't know…" she whispered as I quietly walked us to my room – which was thankfully the furthest one away from my parents.

"Shh," I continued silencing her. My mouth rained kisses all over her beautiful face, trailing open-mouthed down her neck and to her exposed collar. "Shh…don't think too hard, Bella. Don't think."

I opened the door with one hand and then closed it carefully, Bella still wrapped around me. Her skirt had ridden up so that her legs were bared all the way up to her upper thighs, and as I stood with her in the middle of my room, I pushed the skirt higher and palmed her bare ass, barely feeling the sliver of panty between her cheeks.

God, she was glorious.

Bella whimpered and moved her mouth to my neck. "What am I doing?" she whispered to herself. "What am I doing?"

"You're letting yourself feel," I answered her, pulling back to meet her dark brown eyes. "Don't think," I murmured intently. "Just feel."

"The last time I did that-"

I knew what she was thinking, so I silenced her with a firm kiss. "This isn't like then, Bella. You know it's not."

She looked so young all of a sudden, just like another teenaged girl, yet her eyes were so deep, so intense. Full of so much mystery, and so many secrets.

"Let me make you feel good."

"I haven't felt good in a long time," she confessed.

"Then let me try. _Please_," I begged, no shame in my game.

Holding my gaze, she nodded slowly, and I walked us to my bed, lowering her slowly. When she was over the mattress, I rose up for a minutes just to admire her. Her long, dark hair splayed wildly over my comforter, and her long legs looked so beautiful and luscious, the skirt barely hiding anything.

"You have no idea how many times I dreamed of you in that skirt," I grinned.

She chuckled quietly, covering her face with both hands. "Oh God, I corrupted you as a small boy, and I'm corrupting you again now!"

I dropped over her, supporting my weight on my elbows while I pushed back a few strands of her hair off her face.

"You may have corrupted me as a boy," I teased, "but now…" the smile fell from my lips. "Now…you're giving me the most wonderful gift."

She sighed deeply a few times. "Edward…" She reached out and played with my hair. "How is it that a kid your age makes me feel more respected, more special than any other man ever has?"

I swallowed thickly because I knew in that moment that if she let me, I'd spend the rest of my life worshipping her and making her feel special.

Kissing her softly, I pulled her shirt out from inside her skirt and slowly trailed my hand upwards, sighing unevenly in her mouth when I cupped the bottom of her breast. My finger slipped just under the cup of her bra and I felt her inhale sharply.

"May I?" I asked, looking in her eyes.

She looked like the most innocent maiden even though I knew, yeah, I knew she wasn't.

Biting her lip, she nodded, so I moved my hand behind her back and unclasped the bra. When it loosened, I palmed her bare breast, moaning.

"Jesus," I chuckled against her mouth. "I dreamed of these too."

She laughed.

Unable to control myself any longer, I wrapped both hands around her breasts, squeezing and playing with her nipples. Both beginning to feel more anxious, Bella started moving against me, and my erection pressed firmly between her thighs.

"Damn," she snorted, "you really aren't a little boy anymore."

"I keep trying to tell you that," I chuckled.

But the chuckles died away soon because the sensation of my dick pressed against her, even through our clothes, was driving me insane. I lifted her tiny skirt higher and started moving against her thin thongs.

"Oh, Edward…" she sighed, arching her breasts into my palms and moving against me. "I don't think…I don't think we should go any further."

And that's when I felt I was going to die.

Swallowing thickly – and like I said, with no shame left in my game – I looked deep into her eyes.

"Bella, if you want to stop, we'll stop, but I won't lie. I'm dying to get inside you."

She gasped sharply, closing her eyes. "You're so damn sweet and sexy and dirty and…" – she chuckled – "so damn innocent at the same time."

Then her eyes popped open. "Wait a minute, Edward. You've done this before, haven't you?"

"Uh…yeah."

She frowned skeptically. "Tell me you've done this before."

"Kissed and felt up a girl. Yes."

She pressed her lips tightly together, her hands frozen on my shoulders. "How much have you done, Edward?"

"By how much have I done, do you mean-"

"Has your dick ever been inside a vagina?"

"Well…not…technically."

She pushed me off her and quickly began adjusting her bra, re-fastening the clasp behind her before pulling down her skirt to cover her panties.

"Wait, wait, wait," I said, panicking. "What are you doing?"

She glared at me. "Edward, I'm not going to de-virginize you!" she hissed.

"De-virginize is such a technical term."

"You've never fucked anyone!"

I opened my mouth to protest – but then closed it back up.

Bella quickly stalked to the door, heels in her hands, but I reached for her arm before she could turn the doorknob.

"Bella, wait! Wait!"

She turned around, crossing her arms against her chest.

"No," I breathed. "No, I've never had sex," I scowled, "but…but I think that's just because…I've been waiting for you."

She pursed her lips, quirking a brow and began to turn around again.

"Wait!"

With a deep breath, she faced me once more.

"Bella, I swear, I know that sounds like a line, and maybe it sort of is, but…look," – I raked a hand through my hair – "the truth is, I've never wanted to make love to anyone as much as I want to make love to you. Is that wrong? I mean, shouldn't you lose your virginity to the one person you want more than anyone else in the world? That's what you are, Bella. You're the one person – even for those nine years that you were gone – that I've always wanted more than anyone. I know you didn't mean to, but Bella, you ruined me for every other girl. I never even realized it, but…all this time, I've been measuring them all against you. Is that wrong? Anyway," I sighed. "I don't think it is. And I don't think losing my virginity to you would be wrong at all. I think it would be absolutely…perfect actually."

I dropped my head then, disappointment and bewilderment swimming in my mind, and just as I expected her to walk out, she wrapped her arms around me, and there was no stopping us at that point.

I took her to the bed and we made short work of our clothes, kissing while our breaths mingled together, and when I lined myself up at her entrance, I gazed into her eyes, and I knew that this was right, this was the moment I'd been waiting for.

With a quick thrust, I was inside her, and she arched her back, wrapping her legs around me. I bit my lip hard to keep from crying out the way I wanted to because being inside Bella was nothing short of glorious. I thrust in and out, reveling in the absolute warmth and tightness I'd never before experienced. And before I knew it, that feeling welled up in my groin and I was shooting and spurting inside her.

Yeah, it was quick, but I was a virgin. I couldn't have lasted long.

And I was kind of embarrassed when I was done.

I hid my face against her neck, breathing hard.

"I'm sorry that was so quick," I chuckled.

She laughed quietly, playing with the hair at the nape of my neck.

"It's okay. It was sweet."

I cringed.

"Sweet isn't what a guy wants to hear about his sexual prowess."

She met my eyes and kissed me softly. "Edward, trust me. Sweet is exactly what I needed right now. Was it good for you?"

"It was magical for me," I told her honestly.

Tired and spent, I rested my head on her warm breasts, and soon…I was asleep.

XXXXXXX

When I woke up in the morning, I stretched my arms wide, yawning, and with an inexplicable smile on my face.

Until the evening before came back to me.

Quickly, I turned over, only to find an empty space next to me on the bed.

There was a note though:

Dear Edward:

I want to tell you…last night was the best night of my life – despite how quick it was. (JK).

Seriously though, it was wonderful, Edward. You've grown into…a great guy. You're smart, and funny, and so very good-looking.

But you're more than that.

Edward, always stay as sweet as you are. Don't ever turn into one of those guys that need to prove what a man they are. You're tender and sweet and honest, and someday, you'll make some girl very lucky. Maybe if I'd been born ten years later, or you, ten years earlier…

But we'll always have our one night, and I'm grateful for that.

Take care of yourself, Little Brother. I'll think of you.

Bella.

I held the note against my chest, and closing my eyes, fell asleep again, dreaming of Bella.

* * *

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